Fraudulent use and hacking of computers and mobile devices costs companies millions of dollars or more every year. Cloning is one example of fraudulent use of a mobile device. A mobile device, such as a wireless phone, includes identification numbers, serial numbers, passkeys, and the like that are used to identify the device to a wireless network for provisioning of services by the network to the device, among other uses. In cloning, a hacker or other malicious party obtains the identification numbers of a legitimate mobile device and programs the identification numbers into a clone device. Thus, when the clone device communicates with a network, the network recognizes the clone device as if it were the legitimate mobile device. As such, the clone device is unknowingly provided access by the network to the services to which the legitimate mobile device is subscribed.
Without detection measures the network carrier and the user of the legitimate mobile device may not notice the clone device's freeloading use of the legitimate mobile devices subscribed to services until the user is presented with an extraordinary bill by the network carrier. This may cause frustration and dissatisfaction of the user with the network carrier and may lead to the user dropping their subscription with the carrier even where the carrier resolves the user's account to appropriately reflect their actual usage. Development of detection measures that might identify clone device's and their freeloading use of the network are imperative to protecting not only the carrier's interests in the network but also, to protect customer satisfaction of the carrier's customer base.